


Waking with the Setting Sun

by BlackclawKitty19



Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Former Maverick Zero, If You Squint - Freeform, X is kind of like an angel in this, maybe some xzero
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:40:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28440303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackclawKitty19/pseuds/BlackclawKitty19
Summary: (Pre X-1)The world hadn't been ready for a Light-Bot to be found, and it certainly wasn't ready for the android to sleep as long as he had. As reploids were born and Mavericks appeared, X would sleep on, unaware of all of the strife caused by his absence.An AU idea I had, what if X was found, but didn't wake up until just before the first war?
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Waking with the Setting Sun

The sun was setting on Abel City, the citizens heading home after a long day's work. Dr. Cain, however, was not one of those citizens. He sat in his office, the golden glow from the sun’s dying rays filling the windows of the tidy room. 

Blueprints filled every computer screen he had, schematics and lists of compatible materials, everything he could ever need to make a sufficient robot in the palms of his hands. Yet the old man despaired. Because down the hall, a titan slept, and he couldn’t understand nor figure out how to wake him.

-

_ All of his life, Reanold Thomas Cain had been enthralled by robotics. No one could really understand his fascination with Dr. Light, and his passion for building things. From a young age, Cain could be found taking apart toys and remotes, and then rebuilding them. In 5th grade, he had won a robotics contest at school for making a robot that could move on its own using gravity as its motor. _

_ In high school, he had been a class favorite for his thorough work on reports and experiments, his parents even going as far as enrolling him in a school just for robotics. It still wasn’t enough though, and he would often tell anyone who would listen that there was always something more he could do, like something was missing. _

_ So it shocked everyone when the young man graduated, enrolled in college, and decided to major in archeology. Cain claimed it would pay off in the end, and that it all would make sense someday. Something was telling him that this was the field to go into. No one believed him, his parents sulking and believing they had wasted their time and effort on robotics school. _

_ Oh, what a waste of potential, they bemoaned. Cain ignored them. _

_ He studied everything he could about archeology. 8 years in university, internships on various digs around the world and decades teaching in the classroom, all for the chance to finally be allowed to conduct his own, private research. _

_ He got the chance at age 57, and began searching for any remnants of Dr. Light’s sparkling legacy. Taking a small team, he explored around the world, exploring and checking noteworthy spots from the Wily Wars of the past. Everywhere from Japan to Russia to Canada, he scoured the Earth for even a piece of a Robot Master.  _

_ Imagine if he could find the fabled Mega Man himself! Hell, at this point, Cain would take his mythical older sibling, Proto Man. Anything to prove that Light’s final years weren’t spent in a nursing home, and that his legacy remained somewhere, hidden and secret, waiting for the right time to reveal itself. _

_ The time came 100 years after the great scientist’s passing. _

_ Cain had been following rumors of miniscule energy readings in the North Eastern sector of Honshu. The mountainous region and thick forests were difficult to manage, but Dr. Cain was desperate at this point. Anything, anything at all to give him the clues he needed, he would gladly take. _

_ After years of searching, the clue he needed finally showed itself, in a tree root that ended up not quite being a tree root. It was a cable of some kind. Cain and his team followed the cable as best they could until it disappeared underground. When he touched it, he almost recoiled at the warmth coming from it, There was an energy flow here! Something was being powered here, and the Japanese government had no facilities nearby that required such a large cable. _

_ His team spent the next week uncovering, much to Dr. Cain’s delight, the entrance to a lab. This marvelous, miraculous lab, that not only had power running to it, but gladly opened its doors to Cain and his team. _

_ They walked through dilapidated hallways, noting the absence of any kind of projects or work being stored here. Cain’s hope was fading as they continued deeper into the lab, like perhaps, this wasn’t what he was hoping for, _

_ The entire team started when one of the interns tripped over a massive grouping of cables, recoiling from the heat coming from them. The cables led down a hallway that was almost completely collapsed in, but still open enough for the team and their equipment to make it through. _

_ Cain and his team followed the cables, noting more joining them along the way as they crept deeper and deeper into the labyrinthian abyss of the ancient lab. As the darkness closed in heavier on him, Cain had never felt closer to Light than he did now. His heart beating wildly in his chest, anticipation breathing down his neck as he came closer and closer to what was surely the thing he had been looking for his entire life. _

_ The man gasped as the hallway opened up into a large room. Computers humming away and fallen ceiling tiles littered the sides of the room, time eating away at what was left of the space. But that wasn’t what anyone cared about. Because in the center of the room, held up and fed by the very same cables that led them here was a capsule, its light adding an ethereal ambience to the space, like the room itself was some kind of hallowed ground. _

_ Cain believed it, for in front of him may very well have been an angel. Sleeping in his capsule was a living, breathing Light-bot. He was blue, like the ocean, and had an air of age around him, like he held all of the world's answers in his gloved hands. He was beautiful, and more than Cain could have ever hoped. _

_ Cain collapsed to his knees, his interns and aides crying out as he did. He hardly heard them though, tears spilling from his eyes as he gazed at this perfect creature left by his idol, his final gift to the world. _

_ - _

Dr. Cain sighed, running his hand through his beard as the last rays of the sun finally disappeared. That encounter had been 2 years ago, and X, Dr. Light’s last child, slept on. Nothing he had done would wake the Angel, as he had been lovingly nicknamed by the lab staff. People were wanting answers, and Cain had none to give.

All he could do was soldier on.

\-----

Sigma gazed out over Abel City, trying to count in his head how many teams were out patrolling right now. His thoughts had been scrambled and distant, something weighing on his mind as of recently.

Maverick outbreaks were growing, and no one could pin down what was causing them or how to stop them. Reploids breaking the Three Laws were becoming almost a daily occurrence, and the whispering in the back of his own mind was becoming harder and harder to ignore.

If only X was…

No, that wouldn’t help anything, Sigma thought with a shake of his mighty head. Not even the Father of All could stop something like this.

-

_ June 17, 21XX _

_ That was the day Sigma was “born”. A marvel of engineering and prowess, and a shining example of what Reploids could be. _

_ He was tall, intimidating, powerful and mighty, everything that Dr. Cain had built him to be. His ability with a saber was unmatched compared to other Reploids, and even the humans around him couldn’t hope to keep up. He was a born leader, crafted to carry the hopes and dreams of the Reploid race. _

_ After X had been found, the world had been shaken to its very core. Sure, there were mechaniloids, and robots were still in existence, but after the Wily Wars, sentient robotics had become a taboo subject, and straight up banned in some countries. The governments of the world couldn’t risk a chance of another Wily War. They might not be lucky and get another Mega Man again. _

_ So when Dr. Cain had hauled up not only a sentient robot, but a working Light-Bot, the world had quaked. Some called for his immediate destruction, others called for him to be taken apart and studied. In the end, the decision was made to wake him, to bring him to full consciousness like Dr. Light wanted. _

_ But X wouldn't wake up.  _

_ No matter what the scientists of the world did, X wouldn’t wake. It was like he was under a spell or comatose, but he wouldn’t open his eyes. So another decision was made instead. Dr. Cain and the rest of his team would study X, inside and out, and create a line of robots based on the android. _

_ Reploids were created 5 years after X’s discovery, and were a resounding success around the world. With their advanced AI based on Dr. Light’s own creation, and the best tools that could be afforded at the time, the Reploid race were integrated into society as living, breathing people. They had jobs, lives, a purpose, everything that a human could be afforded. Sigma himself was created to be a leader to all Reploids, to bridge the gap between humanity and reploid-kind. _

_ Except something had gone wrong. Reploids began breaking the Three Laws, either attacking humans outright or endangering them. The light prejudice that humans had held towards them multiplied tenfold once the First Maverick killed someone. _

_ The problem had grown at an exponential rate, and no one could see an end in sight. In light of the maverick attacks, some people were shifting blame onto Dr. Cain himself. _

_ Why hadn’t he woken X yet? Surely the first android could stop this! The template for reploids was based on X’s design, maybe that was why Mavericks now existed. Dr. Cain must have messed up the design. Maybe they all shouldn’t have tried to replicate X. _

_ All these things were common talk now. The answer was never satisfying though, and the truth would probably never be found. Sigma found himself ignoring that kind of talk. Mavericks were here now, and that was all that mattered. _

_ After the mavericks continued to get worse, the governments of the world decided they needed something to fight back against them. A force of power and will to protect humans and stop the Mavericks before they caused mass destruction. _

  
  


_ Sigma had volunteered to be the Commander of the Maverick Hunters, leading them against the ever growing threat. At first, his presence alone seemed to slow the attacks, but not for long. Soon, the Mavericks increased the ferocity of their attacks, which in turn increased the volume of Maverick Hunters.  _

_ Now, the Maverick Hunters were a global organization, and Sigma led them all. It was a wonder he hadn’t crumpled under the pressure. He couldn’t, he was the great Sigma, the reploid to bridge the worlds of humans and robotics. He couldn't fail. _

_ God, how he wished the X would wake. _

_ - _

Sigma sighed, rolling his shoulders before turning around to head to the Command Center. Just in time too it seemed, as a hunter recruit burst through the door.

“Commander Sigma sir! A distress call just came in from the First Unit! They’ve met with a maverick that they can’t handle, multiple casualties. They’re requesting Elite Squad.” The reploid saluted, relaying the message from Command Center. 

Sigma felt a drop of dread trickle down his back, calls for Elite Squad, his squad, were rare, but always taken with the highest amount of sincerity. If he was called in as backup against one maverick, then it must be quite the maverick.

The warbot in him smiled, ready for a good fight to release some of the stress he was feeling. The leader in him worried for his units, praying for their safety. And the part of him that must have been designed directly from X himself whispered a word of caution, like nothing would ever be the same.

“Understood, have Zeroth Unit meet me in the launch bay in 5 minutes.” Sigma’s voice was deep and commanding as he ordered the reploid away.

Time for a little fun.

\--------

Zero sighed, twirling a lock of his golden hair around his finger as he actively avoided looking at Vile and acknowledging his glares. Well, however a reploid with no visible face could glare. Still, Zero could feel Vile’s eyes boring into the side of his head, but he wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of looking back at him.

Why just Sigma, Vile and Zero were going on this mission was beyond him. He didn’t want to deal with the reploid with a bad attitude. Most everyone kept a respectable distance from the former maverick, which was fine by Zero. It had only been a few months after Sigma had found him and beat some sense into him. A few lonely months of mistrustful glares and snide comments. That was fine. He didn’t want or need friends. Vile, on the other hand, seemed determined to get on his bad side, and would always pick fights with him.

Zero had argued back with him at first, asking if he felt inadequate now that he was there and moved into Sigma’s elite guard weeks after signing up. That had set the purple reploid ablaze with fury. If Storm Eagle hadn’t been there to physically restrain the two of them, they very well might have torn one another apart.

Apparently it was a problem that the Hunters had been having for a while, with Vile trying to pick fights with everyone. He had had to be taken off of civilian rescue missions fairly quickly when he had insulted and berated the reploid survivors for praying to X to come help them. His words were something along the lines of, “Don’t pray for some dying heap of scrap metal to come save you.”

Zero found he hadn’t really cared either way, but just because Vile had been involved was enough to make his lip curl. Though, that train of thought brought him to their mission, and more specifically, X.

The Crimson Hunter hadn’t given the Azure Angel much thought, seeing as how he wasn’t a reploid. Dr. Cain had been beside himself in joy when Zero’s initial scan had revealed he was as old as the Light-Bot. Who his creator was, and why he had been sealed so deeply underground was a mystery to everyone.

Zero hadn’t particularly cared when Dr. Cain had been gushing about the possibilities of the Red Ripper’s origins. He was much more concerned about the nagging feeling that down the hall was something bigger than any of these humans and reploids. He had felt drawn to Cain Labs ever since, some unknown force pulling his mind towards it, whispering sweet nothings and promises of clarity.

So when Sigma had approached Zero about an incredibly important distress call coming from Cain Labs, Zero had nearly lost control of himself as he volunteered to be part of the hunting squad. 

Sigma rapped his knuckles on the side of the transport they were in, pulling the two elite hunter’s attention towards himself.

“Alright, I’m going over the mission with you both once more before we land. At 1900 hours, Cain Labs went dark, no transmissions going in or out of the building except for the emergency distress beacon. Possible Maverick activity is likely, so weapons need to be hot on landing.” Sigma glanced between the two hunters before bodily turning to Vile.

“You are to clear the first and second basement floors of Cain Labs. Zero, you are to take the first and second top floors of the labs.” The Commander turned to Zero, waiting for his nod of acknowledgement before continuing.

“I will clear the main floor. Once your assigned areas are thoroughly investigated, meet back at the main entrance, and we’ll begin a sweep on the upper levels.”

Both hunters echoed a “roger that” before preparing for their mission, standing behind Sigma as the transport swayed to a stop. Zero’s senses sharpened, his combat mode exiting standby and entering active. He was hyper aware of Vile’s presence to his right, the way his weapons charged and hummed as they activated. Sigma’s threat level was set to high, as it always was.

The warbot exhaled, poised and ready as the door slid open. All 3 hunters rushed out, checking their perimeter before storming up to the entrance of Cain Labs. Sigma nodded to Vile, who dashed away towards the stairwell. Zero hadn’t waited for his commander’s order, simply vanishing up the stairs to the upper levels, his senses already on high alert and scanning for any targets.

Nothing. 

Room after room came up empty. Zero didn’t know if this made him relieved or put him more on edge. No word from his teammates either, meaning no news at all.

With a huff, Zero rushed up to the next floor, shooting an “all clear” to Sigma as he did. Sigma pinged him back in response but gave no other word.

The second floor was just as empty as the first, the staff having already gone home, and the power being lost meaning no electrical interference from computers or work stations.

Rows of cubicles, empty meeting halls, silent laboratories, all of them completely devoid of any life or threat.

Zero nearly hissed in frustration as the last room on the floor came up empty.

“Commander, both upper floors are clear. No sign of any Maverick activity. Returning to rendezvous point.” The Crimson Hunter spoke softly into the comm-line, the eerie silence broken only by his voice. 

Feeling more than a little unnerved, Zero headed back downstairs, waiting for Sigma and Vile.

The sudden presence of a reploid behind him made Zero spin around, his saber drawn and ready to attack his would-be assailant. Sigma’s scowling face was what greeted him as he turned, still some distance away from the warbot.

Zero sighed, letting his arm fall to his side as the saber turned off. “Commander, the main floor is all clear I presume?” He called out to the massive reploid as he made his way over to the Red Ripper.

“That’s correct, I found nothing to even suggest a Maverick attack. We’ll wait for Vile before-” Sigma had been in the middle of speaking when both of their comm-lines crackled to life.

“Sigma, second basement floor. Got a reading on something big, and a human. Moving in to engage in 5.” Vile’s gravelly voice came over the comms, both hunters already in motion towards the stairwell with weapons ready.

That strange pull that Zero had felt ever since his awakening grew stronger the deeper into the Earth that he descended, its whispers and gentle leading becoming harder and harder to ignore. HIs curiosity was going to get the better of him at this rate.

As both hunters landed on the basement floor, they both took a moment to scan the surrounding area. Vile’s signature was clear as day someway’s further into the building. But the thing that really intrigued Zero was the extremely large unknown signature coming from the heart of the floor.

What power, what potential! Zero had never felt anything like it, it was almost intoxicating, the pull he had felt towards the building magnified tenfold. And with the way Sigma glanced over at the android, he had sensed it too.

With weapons hot, and Zero’s core thrumming in his ears, the Commander and his subordinate rushed towards Vile’s signature, surprised they hadn’t already heard gunfire. 

They arrived to see Vile’s still form in the doorway completely frozen. His weapons were lowered to his sides, and he stood stock still, not even turning at his Commander’s calls.

Sigma and Zero both rushed to Vile’s sides, more out of caution rather than concern. The reploid was blocking the doorway, stopping the two hunters from getting a look into the room. The light pouring from around the frozen hunter spoke volumes however, because wasn’t the power supposedly cut from the building?

“Vile, move, we need to see the Maverick, do you hear me?” Sigma whispered harshly, almost vibrating with how tense he was. Vile just shuffled to the side, leaning back against the doorway to let the rest of the light pour through.

Zero’s core felt like it would burst from his chest, whatever was through this door was so astronomically important to him that he felt breathless and dizzy, all of his systems screaming at him to rush in.

With a glance up at his Commander, and a nod from Sigma, both hunters rushed into the room, weapons raised and ready for a fight.

They stopped instantly when they finally saw the room.

It was one of the many labs for studying and building reploids, though this one looked special. The arching ceiling felt too large to be this far underground, and the power lines and conduits moving throughout the walls all fed directly to the center of the lab.

Rising from the floor like a monolith, was a capsule, light pouring from its opened door, tubes and giant cords connected to its top that led up to the ceiling. On the floor in front of it, Dr. Cain himself sat back, like he had fallen backwards and hadn’t had the strength to pick himself up. He was staring directly up at what had caused everyone in the room to freeze.

Framed by the light, and facing Dr. Cain were verdant green eyes, sparkling with some unknown knowledge. His blue armor shone like crystal, and his gentle smile made Zero feel like everything would be okay.

And the world watched with bated breath as this ethereal being, composed of starlight and hope, a relic of an optimistic time of heroes and justice, turned his emerald gaze onto the Leader of the Maverick Hunters.

X stepped away from Dr. Cain, making his way over to the Commander, his movements graceful and made with purpose. He stopped in front of the massive reploid, looking directly up at his mighty face.

“Hello, I’m pleased to meet you. My name is X.” The Light-Bot held his hand out for Sigma to shake, his voice ringing in the darkness like a shining bell that Zero felt himself gravitating towards.

This...android, this angel, was his reason for existing, he knew it. Something deep in his mind screamed for him to close the gap, stand by X’s side and protect him from anything that would dare do him harm. Even deeper in his mind, a voice whispered with glee that his saber would look so nice cutting through that shining blue armor, shredding the android to pieces where he stood.

Zero ignored that second one as Sigma finally spoke.

“X...I thought...excuse me. My name is Sigma, I’m the Commander of the Maverick Hunters.” Sigma gingerly took X’s hand into his own, as if he was scared the android would break. X smiled back, offering a gentle squeeze before letting go. 

His eyes traveled to Vile, who had finally moved from his spot against the doorway and was standing to the side of the room. X made a move to approach the reploid, but stopped when Vile’s weapons raised slightly, as if he meant to attack the Father of All.

X took it in stride however, his soft smile never leaving his ever youthful face, and instead he waved to the hunter, breaking eye contact to look to Sigma’s other side.

The Light-Bot gasped when his eyes met Zero’s, those verdant irises widening as Zero felt himself be scanned. His systems were already screaming at X’s potential power level, and having the android’s direct attention made him feel open, naked almost. The warbot shuffled from foot to foot to try to alleviate the feeling of being searched.

X stepped a little quicker over to Zero, his emerald eyes never leaving the warbot’s sapphire ones as he approached.

“You...you’re like me.” X spoke softly, his smile returning to his face as he stood in front of the warbot. He was shorter than Zero would have imagined, being a whole head shorter than Zero himself. But what did he mean by that, how were they alike?

Zero opened his mouth to reply, but Dr. Cain’s huffs as he began standing up ripped X’s attention from him. X glanced back at Zero, mouthing “later” before rushing to the old human’s side, helping him to his feet.

Sigma cast a sideways eye to Zero, intrigued by X’s reaction before also helping Dr. Cain, leading him gently out of the lab and back into the world, leaving Vile and Zero behind as they watched X’s retreating form towards the entrance to the main hall, his bell-like voice filling the narrow space long after he had disappeared around the corner.

Vile finally moved again, shuffling forward into the doorway.

“Ya know, feel like everything’s about to change because that hunk of scrap metal finally woke up. And I wonder what he meant about you, Maverick.” Vile hissed, his voice dripping with vitriol before he followed suit and left for the main hall.

Zero said nothing, turning to face the capsule one more time. It felt...familiar, in a strange way. But he supposed that didn’t matter. He wanted, no, he NEEDED to be closer to X, to learn what the Angel knew.

He hadn’t realized that the pull he had been feeling towards Cain Labs had now changed direction, and it was pulling him to X’s side.

\-------------

X stared out at Abel city in horror, the flames of war consuming the horizon as Maverick’s lead coordinated attacks against the scattered Hunters.

No, not Mavericks. These reploids were X’s friends. People he looked up to, people he trusted. And to make it worse, Sigma was leading them, pushing them on into wholesale slaughter. X felt sick, like his whole world had turned upside down.

What caused this? Why did Sigma betray everyone? Why was he murdering innocent humans and reploids, and using his own squad members to do it? 

X was spiralling, the world falling out underneath him as his despair deepened with every wisp of flame rising into the night sky. Something pulled him back, forcing him out of his agony and back into the presence.

Zero’s reassuring form appeared next to him, his hand firmly grasped on X’s shoulder. HIs eyes were steely as he gazed out on the war unfolding beneath them, his other hand firmly clenched around his saber. When he turned to look at X, his eyes full of concern and anger, X felt himself settle a little.

Now was not the time to panic, those eyes said, now was the time for action. With a firm nod of his head, X transformed his arm into a buster, relishing in the smile Zero shot at him.

Now was the time for war, and X would avenge everyone who had fallen at the hands of his own mistake. And with Zero by his side, he’d right this wrong, if it was the last thing X would ever do.

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> This was honestly just a silly idea I had, like how would everyone react and how would time progress if something went wrong and X just didn't wake up for a lot longer than what was needed ya know?? Anyway, sorry, I'm kinda rambling. I hope everyone likes this :) sorry I haven't written much lately either, my art twitter has kinda blown up a little and its hard navigating both and 3 jobs!! Hope you all have a great new year!!


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